Trust In Me
by FireLionHeart
Summary: Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff are officially partners going off to start running missions together. Now they will have to learn to work together and place their trust in one another if this partnership is going to work out. That might prove difficult with Romanoff insisting they can't be friends and Barton not liking the way she does things. Sequel to Where You Belong
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter: 1**

**Hello everyone! I am terribly sorry that this took so long to get started but I had the hardest time trying to figure out where to start from. Anyways I think that I've finally got it and so here we are. I hope that you all enjoy! **

**Oh yeah, I don't own any part of the Avengers or anything related to it...duh. **

_She couldn't tell if it was night or early morning when she was suddenly yanked out of her bed. Two men that she recognized as some of the regular guards were holding her arms tightly as they led her out of the room and down many long hallways. They stopped at a door she had yet to go through and the young girl took the small moment to try and get away from them. She kicked one in the shin and punched the other in the gut. The problem was that as she turned to leave the first man she had hit had already recovered and she was caught again. This time the man reached down and picked her up off the ground. He had his arms wrapped around her with her own arms pinned against her body. His partner made himself useful by getting the door open. Inside the room there was another door. It was built into the wall and was a heavy metal door with a lot of locks on the outside. The men led her over to the door as she struggled her hardest to get free. In the end it did her no good. _

"_Not fast enough Natalia," she heard before she was practically thrown into the room and the door slammed shut behind her completely blocking out any light. _

In the silence of the SHEILD base, Natasha Romanoff laid asleep in her room. She had looked peaceful as she slept. After a while her breath hitched and she shifted around on the bed before settling down again, her body more tense then it had been before.

_Everything was dark. She could hold her hand up, only inches away from her face, and not be able to tell it was there. The dark didn't bother her much, she had gotten rid of that fear long ago but it was also pen drop silent. That was a problem it was both disorienting and unsettling. She strained her ears to be able to hear anything but there was not a sound to be heard. She wondered briefly how they had managed that before dismissing the thought. It was also cold in the small room and it left her shivering being in nothing but the thin pajamas that she had been provided with. _

A shiver went through her body despite there only being the slightest of chills in the room. She curled up a bit and moved so that she was more under the covers.

_There was suddenly sound and she reached out in front of her until she felt the wall. The young girl leaned into the cool surface and pressed her ear to it in hopes of figuring out what was going on outside the room she had been trapped in. Outside she could hear a scraping noise and what sounded like small whimpers and hushed words. _

She shifted on the bed again. Her brows knitted together in concentration and her breathing slowed down but got deeper as well.

_The scraping continued until it stopped suddenly and there was a brief pause where all she could hear was the soft whimpering until there was a new sound. She listened closely until she recognized it as the sound of something rolling across the floor, there was a slight squeak as the wheels turned. Then there was someone speaking in Russian but Natalia couldn't quite make out what they were saying though she could tell it was a man's voice. _

Natasha's breathing picked up. She shifted to her other side and a deep frown appeared on her face. She was shivering ever so slightly though she had begun to sweat.

_The man started yelling. It didn't matter though because there was definitely someone else in the room as well. A girl and she was screaming. Her high pitched shrieks covered whatever the man was angrily shouting and it made the young Natalia jump back from the wall she was still leaning against and back up until her back hit the wall behind her. There was a brief pause where the girl was crying and frantically trying to get words out, she was begging and it made Natalia's heart do flips. _

Her heart began to pound in her chest and her body was now twitching. She jerked around in the sheets, unknowingly throwing the blanket off her upper body, and shifted so that she was laying on her back. Her breathing turned into deep and rapid breaths.

_Whoever was on the other side screamed again. It was a truly terrified and blood curdling scream that it sent shivers through Natalia's body. The screams continued. A high pitched wail full of pain and sorrow. Natalia dropped to her knees on the cold floor. Her hands went up to her ears but it did little to block the sound out. The girl on the other side screamed and screamed and screamed. She just wanted it to stop. _

Her body tossed and turned around the bed and it was like she couldn't catch her breath. A small whimpering sound escaped her lips and the frown on her face only grew deeper as she tried to escape the horror inside her head.

_Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. It became a mantra for the little girl trapped inside of the room and being forced to listen as the other one screamed out in pure terror. Natalia's heart beat faster and faster. Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! She yelled inside her head as the screaming continued and only grew louder and more intense. She didn't realize when she had actually started yelling out loud. _

"Stop!" She screamed as she continued to toss around on the small bed. "Stop it!" Tears began to wet her cheeks but she went on oblivious to the fact. She continued to yell out with no one around to hear.

_It wouldn't stop. It wouldn't stop and Natalia was screaming. The man was yelling still. And the screaming, the screaming wouldn't stop and it hurt. It physically hurt to hear the screaming but it just wouldn't stop. It wouldn't stop and she just wanted it all to end. She held her hands tightly over her ears and was rocking back and forth as she yelled out loud for it to just stop. Then it did. It just stopped and Natalia was shocked at first. She looked up where she thought the door was and listened intently for any other noise. _

She stopped yelling. She stopped moving completely but her body remained tense and her breathing still came in rapid, sharp, breaths.

_There was the sound of locks moving and light flooded into the room. Before she could move a hand grabbed her and she was yanked out. She then saw why there had been an abrupt stop. It felt as if her heart had stopped and the breath had been stolen from her. Her eyes went wide at the sight before a scream left her own mouth. _

She screamed until she needed breath and with a gasp she finally was thrown out of the nightmare and into the present. She was a bit disoriented and her body moved on its own accord as she violently kicked the blankets away from her legs and pressed herself up into the corner of the bed. The wall felt cold against her now heated skin and she tried to take deep breaths to get her breathing under control. Her heart was racing as she looked around the room and finally took in her surroundings. She was in her room at the SHIELD base. She was safe and it was just a nightmare. She finally calmed herself down and wiped the tears away.

It was something that Ivan had created and she was the first to try out. He would lock them into a room that was completely dark and the outside was completely silent. Leaving them in there for a while by themselves would get both their fear and curiosity going. He would pick another girl that had failed to do something or another up to his standards and he would tell one of the men at his disposal to torture them in the worst ways they could think of. The child locked inside the other room wouldn't be able to actually see what was going on so their imaginations would go wild. After a while of listening the child trapped inside the dark room, after hearing nothing but screaming, would want it to stop and after begging and pleading for it to stop it would. The torturer would kill the screaming girl and would then take the child out of the room to see the result. Then the guilt would set in because they had in fact wished for the screaming to stop.

Natasha thought of this as she crawled over to the edge of the bed and lowered her feet to the ground. She lowered her head into her hands and tried to shake the memory away. Her body felt sweaty and shaky. She wondered, not for the first time, if she would ever find peace in her life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter: 2**

As he walked down the halls of the SHEILD base that he had remained stationed at for the better part of two months, Clint Barton couldn't help the jittery feeling inside his bones. It had been way too long for him to have to stay in one place and do nothing. There was only so long he could go to the gym and wallow around his vents before cabin fever began to set in, and that was a situation no one wanted to deal with. Coulson had already banned his archer from his office unless it was necessary for him to be there. That had been after an incident that may or may not have involved some paper clips and rubber bands that may or may not have been turned into a miniature bow with arrows that may or may not have resulted in tiny scratches in his handler's desk. In Clint's defense, he had drawn a target on paper and had taped it to Coulson's desk. He just hadn't realized that his creation had worked so well that the tiny arrows went through the paper's barrier. It was an honest mistake really.

It also didn't help that his new partner was of no help to cure his boredom. While she was up to sparing matches with him it was almost always just once a day and it was always at the same time, a whole other issue that he had been thinking about recently, and other than that she didn't really socialize with him at all or any other agent for that matter. After the wounds on her back had healed up she had gone through a bunch of SHILED tests, to see just where her skills were compared to all the other agents, and of course she had excelled in all areas and beat out all of the records that he had set except for target accuracy but she had come the closest. Anyways, it took about a week for the doctor to clear her for the injuries, another two weeks of testing, and after that they were both confined to the SHIELD base and it seemed to him that she had been trying to ignore him since.

Barton wasn't sure why she tried to avoid him but he shrugged it off mostly. Rather, Coulson had told him to leave her alone and let her adjust as she saw fit. Clint didn't like it, deep down he could sense that something wasn't quite right with her but he had decided, after Fury had called him in, that it could wait and be explored until after their first mission was over.

He opened the door to the conference room to see that the Russian woman was already sitting at the large table in the middle with their handler in the seat across from her and the director himself in the seat beside him. Clint nodded to both of the men and then moved to take a seat next to the woman who looked up at him with neutral eyes.

"Romanoff," he said as he took his seat.

"Barton," she replied and looked away from him to Fury.

"Ok," the man spoke up "now that you're both here let's discuss the first mission we have assigned for you as partners." Coulson picked up two folders and passed them to his agents as Fury continued on. "We've gotten reports that this man by the name of Drew Vallcous has some information on SHIELD that he is willing to sell to the highest bidder."

"What kind of information?" Natasha spoke up and Fury crossed his hands one over the other on the table.

"We don't know what type of information." He said "that is your mission. Vallcous is a partner in a couple of high profile businesses, not enough to be Stark rich but enough that he has a love for big and extravagant parties, your mission is to infiltrate one of those parties." The two agents before him remained quiet so he went on. "You need to separate Vallcous from the rest of the party and find out what it is that he knows about us. When you find out the information that he has I want you to report in and we'll figure out where we need to go from there.

"Doesn't that sound a bit…..below our skill level?" Clint asked as he skimmed over the page in the file.

"It's a mission to see how well the two of you work together. It's important but not so important that if for whatever reason the two of you mess it up it won't do very much immediate damage." Barton just nodded in response and Natasha remained quiet. Coulson waited a moment to see if there would be any other comments and when there wasn't he spoke up.

"The two of you will be posing as brother and sister." He said as he handed them each a two paged packet. "This is your cover."

"Eric Barlow," Clint said "an aspiring engineer that has a trust fund from his father who has recently passed away, oh and is looking for someone who will take the time to listen to his ideas in hopes that they'll give him the chance that he needs to finally be able to prove himself." He looked up to Coulson after he finished.

"Vallcous has a particular interest in the field," he supplied and Clint dropped the paper, not bothering to read the rest of it, and glanced over at Natasha's.

"Serena Barlow, is a young woman who is looking to become a model. A naïve young woman with a bright and peppy personality?" Clint looked to Natasha then to his handler. "Whoever came up with this knew that it was going to be for the Black Widow right?" Coulson flashed him a look and Clint didn't miss the glare that the Widow shot his way as she moved the paper away from him and continued to read. "Well at least the model part is believable." He mumbled under his breath.

"Don't forget the part where the two of you are part Italian on your father's side. You'll need an accent," Coulson said looking at Barton and hid the smirk as the younger man took the paper and flipped to the second page. "Vallcous is part Italian and it will help you gain his trust."

"Alright," Clint said putting the papers down and leaning back in his chair. "So what's the plan?"

"The plan," Coulson said "is that the two of you get into the party, you will already be on the list this time, the covers held up enough that they bought the story of who your father was. When you get in there you need to get Vallcous alone and slip something in his drink. From there you can pretend that he had too much to drink or something and get him into another location for the interrogation. Report back and we'll figure it out from there, should be simple enough as you've already pointed out Barton." He said with a nod to the archer. "You'll be leaving in the morning. A jet will be waiting at 0800."

"Yes sir," Clint and Natasha replied.

"You are dismissed agents." Fury said and Clint stood and followed Romanoff out of the door.

"Hey Romanoff," he called out to her as she made her way down the hall. She stopped and turned around to face him with a silent question in her eyes. "You want to stop and get some lunch?"

"It's not time for lunch Agent Barton," she replied and Clint looked down at his watch.

"They're serving lunch now," he countered.

"I don't want to go get lunch." She replied and turned to leave when he stopped her again.

"Ok, how about we go to the gym and go a few rounds?" he asked and she shook her head.

"Not right now Agent Barton," she said and again turned away to continue down the hall.

"Why not, you got somewhere you need to be," he replied with slight sarcasm.

"As a matter of fact I do," she said with a hint of irritation in her voice. Clint stopped walking as she sped up to get away from him. He watched as she disappeared around the corner and fought the urge to trail her in order to find out what she was doing. That lasted all of ten minutes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter: 3

Predictably, Romanoff was already on the jet when Barton finally arrived, five minutes late. He took his bag off his shoulder and headed towards the open seat next to his partner.

"Romanoff," he said with a nod.

"Barton," she replied simply. The flight was a relatively quiet one. Natasha wasn't in much of a chatting mood, preferring instead to read over the case files and sit quietly. Clint had tried to start up a few conversations but they didn't lead anywhere so he too eventually sat there with nothing but the sound of the jet. It was the longest three hour flight he had been on in a while.

When they arrived at the hotel Clint was happy to see that it was relatively nice. He had had his fair share of dumpy hotel wannabes in the past. On missions like the one they were on one of the most important things was to stay in character whenever possible so Clint pulled out his Italian accent he would be using as he checked them in. Natasha flashed him a look but didn't say anything as she grabbed her bags and headed for the elevator.

"Hey this is kind of nice," Clint said as he opened up the door to the small room they would be staying at for the next few days.

"Your accent is horrible," Natasha said as she moved past him to put her bag on one of the beds.

"Why yes, I agree Clint It is kind of nice," he mumbled under his breath as he went to the other bed that was the closest to the window. "My accent is fine."

"You can tell that it's fake," She said and he rolled his eyes.

"Since when are you so chatty?" He turned around to look at her and she shrugged.

"It might be a problem."

"I've used it before without any problem I'm sure it'll be fine." She didn't reply to that. He turned his attention back to unpacking his bag but couldn't help the aggravation that was clawing at him. "You should be more worried about yourself," he said after a few minutes. "Naïve, peppy attitude, yeah that'll take some work."

"I can do the job fine," she said and he could hear the slight edge to her voice.

"What," he said turning around again "you can criticize my cover but I can't criticize yours?" He didn't really mean for it to sound as snappy as it had.

"You haven't seen _mine _yet," she said with a glare and he huffed.

"Whatever Natasha,"

"Serena," she corrected.

"You serious?" At the look she gave him he just shook his head and continued. "Whatever, do you want to get something for dinner or not?"

"It's not time for dinner," she replied and he couldn't help the growing frustration.

"It's five o' clock, there are plenty of people who have dinner around this time. In fact I think most people do."

"I don't want to Eric," she said back at him and he swore she emphasized on the name just to bother him.

"Fine," He said raising his hands up at her "you do what you want I'm going." He barely noticed the nod she gave before he took off. He made it down to the lobby before he was swearing to himself. This isn't how he wanted it to go. They weren't going to get very far if they were constantly getting on each other's nerves.

By the time he had gotten back Natasha was gone. He had hoped that she would be there so that they could talk. Instead he switched to his pajamas and got ready for bed. A few minutes passed by and he had just finished brushing his teeth when he heard the door open then shut gently.

"You get something to eat?" He asked as he stepped out of the small bathroom and she simply nodded and headed over to her bed. He tried not to stare as she went about the room checking the weapons that she had placed around the area. He wondered if she had done the same in her room at the SHEILD base. What if she had them stashed around the entire base? He shook the thoughts from his head and went to pull the covers back from his bed. He had simply put his bow were he could easily reach it in a hurry and had put a small .22 under his pillow. "Hey Natasha,"

"Serena," She replied without looking back at him.

"Does it really matter? No one is going to hear us in here."

"It's a habit thing," she replied coolly "besides I would prefer that you call me Agent Romanoff anywhere else."

"Are you really being serious?" He asked with unbelieving eyes.

"I'm not your friend Agent Barton. I thought we covered that already."

"Why can't we be friends?" Natasha shook her head as if annoyed with the conversation.

"Because it's too many emotions and we can't risk becoming compromised."

"We're compromised if we're friends?" He couldn't believe she was being like she was "I'm asking for friendship not marriage!" She didn't reply to that. Instead she just turned away from him and continued getting ready for bed. "What's the real problem," he asked her and she paused for just a second.

"I don't want to." She turned and gave him a glance over her shoulder. "That should be reason enough for you." With that being said Natasha grabbed her pajamas out of her bag and disappeared behind the bathroom door. Clint gave a frustrated sigh and collapsed down on his bed. He knew that it was probably no use but there was something about the woman that wouldn't let him just leave her alone like he probably should. He didn't know what it was but it just wouldn't let him accept things as they were.

When she finally returned it was eight o' clock right on the dot. Natasha wasted no time climbing into bed but then she stopped and just sat there like she was thinking hard about something. She looked over to where her partner was trying not to look back at her. She had realized that she had a problem and didn't exactly know how to solve it.

"Is something wrong?" The archer's tired voice floated over to her and she could hear actual concern despite how she had talked to him earlier. She didn't like it.

"I'm fine Barton, I'm just not tired."

"Eric," he mumbled under his breath with sarcasm lacing his words. She tried not to glare at him but couldn't help it. "Seriously is something wrong," he asked and she paused. He watched as she thought something over in her head and could actually see the moment she had made her decision.

"Nothing, I'm fine." He sighed inwardly and pulled the covers up around him.

"Ya know we are going to be partners regardless of you not wanting to be friends. If you do need something you can ask." She remained quiet, staring down at the bed covers instead of looking at him. "Just remember that," he said before getting comfortable and shutting his eyes. Maybe she was reading too much into it but she noticed how he hadn't turned his back to her. It was a sign of distrust but she shook that thought out of her head. He had no reason to trust her and she wouldn't advise him doing so anyways.

Natasha sighed and laid down so that she was on her back but didn't close her eyes. She didn't want a repeat of the night before. There was no way she was going to let Barton see her as a weak and trembling mess because of some nightmare. It wasn't an option. She would just have to stay awake, which actually wasn't that impossible for her to do, she just didn't like it very much.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter: 4**

"Romanoff, do you think that you'll be ready sometime this century," he knocked slightly on the bathroom door but got no reply. The day had definitely gone better than the previous but the two of them hadn't talked much unless it was related to the mission. They generally avoided each other the rest of the time. They had gone their separate ways for lunch and then had gone off alone again so that Natasha could find a dress and Clint a tux.

He had noticed that she looked tired that morning but hadn't mentioned it. He had a suspicious feeling that she hadn't slept and wondered what had stopped her. Was it because he was in the room? Did she distrust him so much that she couldn't sleep with him in the room? Granted he hadn't felt comfortable turning his back to her but he had at least fallen asleep. Clint had no idea what he was going to do to improve the situation between him and his partner. Speaking of which she finally, after almost an hour, stepped out of the bathroom and he had to remember not to let his jaw hit the floor.

Her hair had been straightened so that there was no more curl to it, he weirdly found that he missed them, and it had been pulled into a braid that started at the top right side of her head and travelled diagonally and ended in a messy but elegant bun that was offset to the left a bit. A few strands of hair was left free so that they framed her face. She added touches of makeup such as dark eyeliner, mascara, and some kind of eye shadow that made her eyes pop out and look even more beautiful. Wait what? He thought to himself and fought the urge to shake his head after that last thought. She was wearing a fitted, black, cocktail dress. It was sleeveless, hugged all of her curves, and ended a bit above her knees. The top came just low enough that it caught attention but high enough to be appropriate. Natasha had completed the look with a pair of open toed, black, heels and a silver necklace with matching earrings. He couldn't help but notice that she had painted both her nails and toenails red. She looked every bit the aspiring model that she was playing.

She eyed him up and down, taking in the fact that he had shaved and appreciated the way the black suit fit him and nodded her approval at the fact that he didn't even wear a clip on tie.

"You look nice," he said when he had finally found his words again. She thanked him politely and returned the compliment. "Ugh, we should get going." She smiled inwardly at the fact that he was stumbling over himself slightly then mentally chastised herself, telling her mind to stay focused on the mission.

As promised they were able to walk into the party with no effort at all. Clint instantly felt uncomfortable by all of the people that were surrounding him but noted that Natasha seemed perfectly at ease. When they came across the first person who wanted to talk Clint was amazed as Natasha took the lead before he could. It was amazing to watch. Her cold exterior that she usually wore was gone and was replaced by a bright smile. She talked with the older man in a warm and easy going manner her eyes lighting up in excitement as she talked about the party and how shiny everything looked, just like a peppy girl would. It amazed him. She had effortlessly melted into a whole other person. As she moved on further into the party he noted that the entire way she carried herself had changed. He also, begrudgingly noted that her accent was flawless. Of course he had seen the way she worked when he was watching her months ago but seeing it up close was a completely different story.

It didn't take him long to go with the flow. He would introduce himself and his "sister" say some things about his work and then Natasha, as if she was so excited she couldn't stop talking, would jump in and start talking about everything from the party to her dream of modeling. She had completely charmed every person they had run into. Eventually, after about an hour of being there, the guest of honor finally showed his face and Clint was eager to get the mission over with so he could get out of the monkey suit he was forced into.

"How do you want to play this," Clint whispered to his partner as they tracked the man across the room.

"I've got this," she whispered back and before he could comment she was off. He watched as she walked towards the man in question and, looking completely natural, she tripped over her feet and caught herself by grabbing on to the nearest thing she could find, which just happened to be their guy. Clint quickly got the hint and approached the pair as Natasha straightened up.

"Serena watch what you are doing!" He fussed at her. She lowered her head in embarrassment and looked shyly up at their mark.

"I am very sorry sir," she said with regret lacing her voice "these are new and I am still getting use to them." She was absolutely perfect, she had even added a bit of moisture in her eyes like she was so embarrassed she would cry. It was ridiculous.

"Nonsense darling," Vallcous replied with a grin "accidents happen. I don't know how you girls can wear those things anyways." Natasha allowed a small smile at that. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Drew Vallcous." Natasha's eyes grew wide and filled with excitement once again.

"You're the one who did all this." She said and Clint shook his head.

"Serena you're being rude." He said and offered his hand to the man. "Eric Barlow and this is my sister Serena, please pardon her excitement she came along with me and this is the first time she's been to a gathering such as this."

"It's quite alright," Vallcous replied as he took Clint's offered hand. "I've heard of you I am sorry to hear about the death of your father, I read that he was a great man." If Clint were any less of an agent he would have laughed at that comment.

"We appreciate it," Clint said with a smile "he was a good man."

"I also heard that you were an engineer?"

"Ah, trying," he replied "I have looked into a few things here and there but so far nothing solid has hit yet. That's actually why I'm here. I was hoping to run into someone who might actually hear me out."

"Hmm, and you dear?" He asked looking to Natasha "I heard that you were a….model was it?"

"Yes sir." She replied

"Are you looking for work as well?"

"Oh, no I'm just here to accompany my brother. Not saying that if the opportunity presented itself that I would turn it down." She said flashing the man another brilliant smile. Vallcous smiled back and Clint didn't miss the way the man quickly looked his partner over. He unconsciously stepped a bit closer to Natasha and the man looked back up to him.

"I heard that you were part Italian on your mother's side?" He said suddenly and Clint nodded. "Not trying to pry but the two of you sound a bit…different." He replied and Clint felt his nerves jump a slight bit.

"Ha, I told you that everyone thinks so," Natasha said to him with a laugh and a playful hit to the chest. "Our parents separated for a few years when we were younger. I stayed with our mother while Eric lived with our father. He got more of the trust fund I got more of the accent." She laughed as if it were some running joke between the two of them and Vallcous laughed along.

"Isn't that just how it happens," he said and smiled at the two of them. "So Eric, I have a bit of an interest in engineering myself you care to talk shop?"

"I would love to talk shop with you Mr. Vallcous," he said shooting the man a smile of his own. "First could I get you a drink?"

"Oh no thank you," he replied "I am trying to cut down. Alcoholism tends to run in my family with the men. I would rather not chance it. " Well SHIELD had definitely missed that, Clint thought and felt his heart skip a beat. There was no way they would be able to incapacitate the man so that no one would notice in the room full of people. Of course this would happen.

"No we definitely wouldn't want to chance it," Natasha chimed in and if Clint didn't know any better he would say she had a flirty undertone in her voice.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter: 5**

Clint ran through the finer details of his cover's life as he continued to "talk shop" with Vallcous. Details he had memorized like where he went to school, his past work experience, and the design plans he had for future buildings went through his mind and out his mouth. When he had seen the identity he was given Clint was happy that he did know something about engineering, enough that if Vallcous threw out a random question he had a chance of answering or turning the conversation around so that he could talk about something he knew. As it turned out he didn't need that or a cover story at all. He had realized about a third of the way through the conversation that the older man wasn't really paying attention to him.

After Vallcous mentioned the thing about not wanting a drink because of alcoholism he had been wracking his brain for a way to get the man alone but it seemed that Natasha had already worked something out by herself. She had really turned on the charm and he really wished that she would share her plan with him. So far she had only sat back and listened to them while she sipped the drink that Vallcous had gotten for her, saying that just because he wasn't drinking didn't mean they couldn't, and shot flirty looks with the man. That was obviously catching his attention more than the conversation was. Clint was pretty sure that he could say just about anything he wanted and the man wouldn't even notice.

Natasha finished the champagne and asked a waiter for another as the two men continued with their conversation. She smiled sweetly at the man as he handed her the drink and smirked to herself when she saw that Vallcous had noticed and had envy swimming in his eyes. She wanted to laugh, men were so easy. She tuned back in to the conversation and had to give Barton props. She had seen him read the file he was given maybe twice but he had seemed to memorize the entire thing. She met eyes with him and he looked over to the drink table indicating he wanted to talk. She ignored him for three reasons. One, because she already had a drink and the only reason for her to go to the drink table would be for her "brother" to get a drink and if she followed it might send out the idea that she had to go wherever he went which then might turn Vallcous away from her and ruin her plan. Two, she didn't want to leave Vallcous and him move his attention on to someone else because while she was positive that she could definitely regain his attention it was not a guarantee and it was just more work. Three, she was pretty sure that Vallcous would follow along anyways unless Clint told him that he wanted to have a word in private which then might rise suspicions. Anyways, she just turned her attention back to what Vallcous was saying and ignored the annoyance she could feel from Barton.

Clint was sure that she was straight up ignoring him and he fought not to let the annoyance show. He kept up the pointless conversation he was having as he watched Natasha laugh at the man's horrible jokes and give him looks that made Clint want to roll his eyes. He was just about to open his mouth and ask his "sister" to accompany him to the drink table when she randomly tried to take a step forward and stumbled slightly. Vallcous of course, ever the gentleman, caught her arm to steady her and she smiled appreciatively at him.

"Are you alright my dear?" Vallcous asked and Clint could tell that the concern in the other man's voice was as fake as his accent was.

"I probably shouldn't have had another," Natasha said painting an embarrassed look on her face as she handed Clint her half empty glass. "Eric, could you ask for a glass of water?" She was trying to get rid of him? Really?! This is how she wanted to play it? What the hell was she planning, he couldn't leave her alone he didn't know what she was going to do, what was his role in this plan? Well, the last one wasn't really a question considering she had just told him what she wanted him to do but he didn't like it. What if whatever plan she had constructed didn't go to plan?

"If you're feeling unwell maybe it's a good idea to call it a night." He hoped that maybe he could lead this in a direction where they could just go back to the room. Vallcous was going to be in the area for the rest of the week, plenty enough time to come up with another plan and execute.

"Oh, but I'm having such a good time." She said and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not a child Eric, I know what I can and can't do. If you want to leave then fine but I want to stay." She said it in a way that suggested that they've had the same argument before. It annoyed him how well she could play the situation.

"It was only a suggestion," he commented and she sighed.

"Will you go ask for some water for me? I promise no more champagne." She said and Vallcous chimed in from behind her.

"Go on son," he said and placed a hand on Natasha's shoulder "we'll go see if we can find something to eat so that the champagne won't upset her stomach." Nice, Clint thought to himself, act like you actually care and the brother will think you're a good guy and feel more comfortable leaving you with his sister. He had used the same approach once or twice when trying to pick up a girl.

"Alright," he said and glanced at Natasha "I'll be right back."

"Thank you," she replied and he rolled his eyes when he turned his back to the pair of them. Natasha Romanoff, drunk after two champagnes, as if Clint thought to himself as he strode up to a waiter. "Pardon me," he said and the woman turned to him.

"Is there something that I can help you with sir?"

"Yes, my sister has had a bit too much to drink and is starting to feel a little lightheaded, is there somewhere I can find a glass of water?" The woman gave him a sympathetic smile and nodded.

"Yes, I'll get you a glass," she said and he thanked her politely. He followed her to the kitchen area and waited as she disappeared behind the double doors. He took the moment to look for Natasha and their target. However, when he looked back to where they were standing there was no sight of them. He half expected that so he kept his cool and continued to search the room where the guests were gathered. There wasn't any rooms for them to go to except the bathrooms and a closet that he had noted earlier was occupied. He didn't see them and judging by the fact that people were still going in and out of both bathrooms normally he didn't figure they would be there either.

"Here you go sir," the waitress returned handing him a glass of ice water and he thanked her. "I hope your sister feels better."

"I'm sure she will," he said "thank you again." She smiled a final time and returned back to doing her job. Clint reached up and turned on the communicator that both he and Natasha had worn in case they were to get separated. He knew that the communicator on her side would beep in her ear whenever his was turned on alerting her to turn hers on as well. She didn't. He mentally cursed and turned the device off then on again. He got the same result and repeated turning the device on and off. He knew that she could hear it beeping, her hearing was better than perfect.

"C'mon Romanoff," he mumbled under his breath as he continued to press the device off then back on again. He wasn't worried, he told himself over and over again as he made his way outside. "Turn the damn thing on." She failed to respond and he repeated over and over to himself that he wasn't getting worried. He walked up to the man with the guest list and tried not to let any of his frustration show. "Excuse me sir?"

"Yes,"

"I've seemed to have lost track of my sister and was hoping that maybe you have seen her?"

"You're Eric Barlow?"

"Yes sir, my sister is Serena."

"I heard about your father, I am terribly sorry for your loss."

"Yes thank you, about my sister, have you seen her?"

"Oh, I believe she left with Mr. Vallcous just a moment ago," the man replied.

"Any idea where they were headed?"

"I've learned that when Mr. Vallcous leaves with a young lady that it's not proper to ask what they are up to."

"Yeah, thanks." He said and turned away from the man. "I'm going to kill her."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter: 6

After almost another hour of walking around the party Clint, with no ideas on where his partner could have gone, did the only thing he could think of. He drove back to the hotel they were staying at with a war raging inside of him. His was both angry at how reckless she had behaved and concerned about whether or not she was ok. He tried getting her to turn on her comm. again but he learned fast that it was pointless and gave up on the idea. By the time he had reached the hotel a new worry had set in. What if Romanoff wasn't coming back? What if she had behaved at SHIELD long enough to get put on a mission where she could flea and have SHIELD lose track of her. What if she has killed Vallcous, taken whatever she could from him, and was now on her way out of the country?

The thoughts plagued him as he stepped into the lobby of the hotel. He was planning a call to Coulson when he looked up and was all at once relieved and furious when he saw her sitting there. She was in one of the fancy looking armchairs flipping through a magazine he knew she probably had no interest in. It was then he remembered that they had only taken one room key with them and he had it in his wallet.

All the thoughts of her running was gone from his head which was a plus but he was still so angry he wanted to hit something. He also noted that her hair was a little disheveled and other thoughts entered his head. Thoughts like what the hell had happened while they were separated and why hadn't she contacted him. Where did she go? What did she do? Did she actually just smirk at him!? Seriously!?

She stood up gracefully as he approached and seeing as there was no one else in the lobby with them he grabbed her arm and pushed open the door that led to the stairs. He had no care to the fact that she was a lethal assassin as he pushed her against the wall that was under the staircase above them. She glared daggers at him but made no attempt to move.

"Where have you been? Why didn't you answer your comm.?" He demanded sternly.

"I was getting the information we needed." She answered back with venom in her words "I wasn't wearing a comm."

"What!? You're supposed to wear it Romanoff, in case we get separated and need help."

"We were supposed to be together Barton I didn't think it would be necessary."

"What if you would've gotten in trouble huh? What if you had needed my help?"

"I don't call for help," her tone turned dark as if offended he'd even suggest that she would do such a thing. "Let go of me."

"I want answers Romanoff, what did you do?" He ignored her command and kept the hold on her.

"I did the job," she almost hissed at him "I'm sorry if you're mad about being out of the loop…"

"Oh I'm not mad," he said "I'm way past being mad Romanoff. We're partners you can't just go off like that."

"We weren't getting anywhere so I…"

"You didn't tell me!" He cut in and tightened his hands around her arms unconsciously. "Did you sleep with him?" He lowered his voice and he noticed the slightest hesitation in the woman.

"I did what I had to in order to get…"

"Jesus Romanoff!" He abruptly let go and took a few steps back. "You don't have to do that! This isn't like it was before! You don't have to go all the way with…"

"What else did you want me to do!?"

"Tell me the damn plan! I could've helped get you out of there before you had to go through with that!"

"The job got done either way! Why are you so concerned!?" Barton could feel his agitation rising so he threw his hands up in the air and spoke faster than he could think.

"You know what fine." He added a shrug "you want to go whore yourself around who am I to stop you?"

He knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as he looked at her, really looked at her. For the first time since meeting her he saw pain, true unadulterated pain, in her eyes that shattered all of his anger. They stared at each other for just a moment and he fumbled in his brain for something to say but nothing came. Then as fast as it happened a cool exterior fell back on her features and she spoke calmly.

"The information that Vallcous had was incorrect" she said "I'll inform director Fury that there was no threat." She turned to head up the stairs.

"Wait," she looked back at him from where she stood but the right words just weren't coming to him. "I….how did you know it wasn't right?"

"I've read the true version of what he had. Go ahead and report me." She said, a dark undertone to her words, before walking up the stairs and away from him. Clint sighed as he watched her disappear and figured he'd give her some time before heading up himself. He sat down on the steps in front of him and cursed his mouth for speaking and his brain for not stopping him.

By the time he made it up to the room himself Natasha was just climbing into bed. She glanced at him quickly then lowered her eyes to the covers. He crossed over to where his bag had been put and took off his coat. The tension in the air was so thick he felt like he could choke on it.

"We are leaving in the morning, 0800." She said without looking at him "If Vallcous sells that information it's only helping to throw people off SHIELD further so there's no point for us to continue on here."

"I see." Clint replied, the only response he could think of. Without another word he escaped into the bathroom and slowly went about getting ready for bed. He wished that he could call Coulson to come and get him that night. He wasn't looking forward to spending the rest of the night with an angry Black Widow. He thought about the conversation they just had as he climbed into the shower. He recalled her face when he had been questioning her actions. He thought about the way she spoke and her reactions and realized that she was genuinely confused as to why he was upset with her. It frustrated him to no end but he realized then that it wasn't just her that he was frustrated with. With a sigh he turned the hot water to its highest setting.

When he finally stepped out of the bathroom, almost an hour later, he saw that she was turned over and facing the wall. He thought for a second that she might be asleep but the fact that he was uncomfortable turning his back to her when he slept made him question it. She was faking, he was sure of it. Part of him wanted to call her out on it but another part of him left it alone because she obviously didn't want to talk about it so he climbed into bed and watched her for a second before closing his eyes.

From the other side of the room Natasha thought about what had happened. She had been called lots of things before but had turned numb to insults. Somehow what he had said cut deep inside her and she didn't like it. This is wrong, she thought quietly to herself, he shouldn't get to you like this. She turned for a moment to see him asleep on the other side of the room, his body facing her still.

When she turned back over she felt the pressing tiredness but fought back against it. She couldn't go to sleep. It wasn't allowed while she was stuck in a room with another person, especially him. But she was so tired. It didn't take long for her eyes to grow heavy and for memories to start pushing their way through her mind. She jerked herself awake. You're stronger than this, she said to herself. You're the Black Widow and you're stronger than this. She repeated it over and over again to herself as she turned over so that she was facing Barton and the window behind him. She focused out the window and watched the sky as it ever so slowly changed.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter: 8

**Wow everyone, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take this long to update, school stuff, anyways here's the next chapter I hope that you all enjoy. **

Coulson watched his two agent as they approached from the jet. Romanoff walked with her usual confidence as she kept her eyes forward, back straight, and looked almost soldier like as she approached him. It told him nothing so he switched to the one he was sure to get something from. He could tell that something was off when he saw the slight scowl Barton was trying poorly to cover up. Barton was no Romanoff but he did a decent job of covering his emotions. It was clear with one look that the kid wasn't really trying and the fact that the archer knew that they were about to do a debrief meant that something had happened, something Clint was going to be sharing and it would probably cause a scene between the two new partners. Coulson nodded to the two of them when they stopped in front of him.

"Welcome back agents good job completing the mission."

"Thank you sir," they both replied.

"Director Fury and Agent Hill are waiting to debrief," He motioned for them to go ahead and when Romanoff began to walk Coulson placed a hand on Barton's arm to stop him and gave him a look.

"Later Phil," the archer replied and followed behind his partner. He sighed and silently followed, wondering just what had happened on the mission. He guessed that they were all about to find out.

Fury knew that there was something up the moment the agents and their handler stepped into his office. All was quiet as everyone moved to their places. Hill stood on his right, Coulson on his left, and Barton stood with his partner on the other side of the desk in front of the small group. Fury watched the two of them closely. Barton's face was almost as blank as his partner's but after a year and a half of working for him, the archer's mask was a bit easier to crack. He could tell that Barton was aggravated at something. Romanoff was a vault and it unnerved him how he couldn't get a read on her. Something was off with her though, Fury could sense it with no knowledge of how. It was a gift of his.

As they proceeded on with the debriefing he kept his eye on the two of them as they recounted their mission. He didn't interrupt much as Barton took the lead in describing what had taken place while they were away. When he had finished Fury turned his gaze directly to Romanoff. He took notice of her posture, how ridged she stood, and couldn't help comparing it to the other agents. While they didn't quite get comfortable, they were usually far more relaxed at just the mandatory debriefing. He didn't dwell on the fact, just took notice.

"Is there a reason you didn't feel the need to inform your partner of your plans Agent Romanoff?" He asked her directly.

"The original plan wasn't going to work. I saw an opening and an opportunity to talk with my partner that I felt comfortable with didn't present itself."

"You failed to communicate to your partner where you were or what you were doing," he said in a way that was more of a question then a statement.

"I wasn't wearing a communication device." Fury sighed and threw his hands up, something that he did out of habit sometimes. He didn't think that anyone in the room missed the way that the woman in front of him tensed as if preparing herself for a hit. He lowered his hands immediately and moved on so as not to draw any more attention to it.

"There is a reason we have those devices Romanoff." He said "You are required to wear them at all times so that you know what is going on and so that others know what is going on with you. How is your partner supposed to know if you need help or how are you supposed to know if he needs your help?" She stared at him for a moment as she considered his words.

"I understand your point sir." She said "it won't happen again."

"See to it that it doesn't. I don't want to have this conversation again."

"Yes sir."

He nodded in response and to the both of them he asked "is there anything else that I should know about?"

Natasha felt a tinge of anxiety shoot through her at the thought of what had happened the night before. Barton hadn't tried to talk to her about the way she acted after the nightmare she had. In fact, since the moment she had locked him out of the bathroom in the hotel he hadn't said much to her at all. He had asked if she wanted anything for breakfast that morning and after she turned him down there was nothing. She worried now that he would bring it up in front of the director of SHEILD. What would they do to her if they realized she was having this problem? She already broke the rules about wearing a comm. there would surely be some sort of punishment if Barton brought this up now, right? Or worse, Ivan had killed for less. Why the hell was she having these nightmares anyways? She had never had to deal with them before why now? These thoughts ran through her head as she waited for her partner to speak up and just get it over with. No more than a few seconds passed in silence before Fury dismissed them both. To Natasha it had felt a lot longer but she felt relief flush through her and was quick to get out of the man's office and away from everyone.

She heard Barton before he spoke and groaned to herself. She really just wanted to be by herself for a while.

"Romanoff," he called out and though she had no desire to speak with him she stopped. Maybe it was because he had not spoken out about what had happened when he could have and probably should have. "Um," it was obvious that he was uncomfortable with himself and was fumbling around in his head for what he wanted to say. "I wanted to apologize for what I said last night when I called you a…Well I'm sorry," her face held her usual stoic expression but for a second he saw her eyes shift. He wondered briefly if anyone else could detect these small cracks in her mask. He cleared his throat, and that thought from his mind, and continued to speak. "You know you can speak your mind around me Romanoff," he said "if you have a question just ask it." There was another flash and he could almost see the gears working behind her eyes as she contemplated what he said. Clint knew that she studied him just as surely as he studied her.

What Natasha could see in him was that he had seen something in her, that wasn't supposed to happen. It didn't sit well with her that the man had found a way to read her. The truth was that she was confused. Barton was a higher authority than herself at SHEILD, why was he apologizing to her? People of authority didn't do that with people lower than them. In fact, no one whether they were of higher authority or the same, had ever apologized to her and certainly not with the sincerity that Barton had.

For Clint he could see that Natasha had closed herself off again. He could almost pinpoint the moment she had realized he had caught on to something from her and was now consciously keeping information out of her features. He couldn't read anything and was just about to give up on a response from her when she spoke up.

"Why didn't you tell Fury?" He didn't have to as what she was referring to.

"We all have demons that haunt us Romanoff," he said with a sad, half-hearted, smile. Clint watched her take in that information and store it away before giving him a slight nod. That was it for the moment, a million questions but nothing left for them to say right then. Clint glanced at the clock hanging from the ceiling then, both to break the awkward silence forming and to test a theory, he asked "do you want to head to the gym? We could spar if you'd like?"

"Warm-up first," she said as she turned to walk down the hall and towards the gym "then we can spar."

From inside Fury's office, unknown to the two agents, Fury along with Hill and Coulson watched the exchange between them. It was Coulson who spoke up first.

"They don't trust each other." He said "Barton is more open but I know him. He might be pass the idea that Romanoff will kill us all in our sleep but he doesn't trust her to do the right thing."

"And Romanoff doesn't trust anyone," Hill added. "She's not used to this environment, doesn't understand it. She doesn't trust that Barton is really there to help her."

"What if they don't work out?" Coulson directed the question at Fury who just sat quietly as he listened to two of his most trusted compatriots. "They got through this mission but what happens when they go up against some real trouble? What if they can't work out the kinks?"

"They'll be among the worst partnerships at SHIELD," Hill chimed in.

"Or the best." Fury finally spoke "ye of little faith." Coulson almost rolled his eyes. "Give them time." He said and Coulson leaned his head back with his eyes closed for a second before meeting his boss's gaze again.

"Fine, but I don't want to have to do the paperwork if they kill each other." He said and with that he left the office and headed off somewhere else. It was silent until Hill turned to him.

"Sir, they might not have enough time." She said quietly thinking back to the discussion the two of them had before sending the new partners out on their first mission.

"Then we'll have to give them the right push."

"Does Coulson know yet?" She asked and Fury looked up at her with serious eyes.

"There are some things that can't get done properly if he did." They held each other's eyes for a second then she nodded and made her way out as well. Maria didn't always agree with his methods but so far he has done nothing to show that she shouldn't place her trust in him.


End file.
